Medley
by Lady Jane Doe
Summary: A series of romantic RanmaAkane oneshots based on songs; that is, turning a song into a story. Read the Intro for more indepth information. M to be on the safe side.
1. I Want You She's So Heavy

**This is the beginning of my latest (and favorite!) project, Medley. The intro will go up next, so you'll get a better idea of what's going on here and then you can decide if you want to stick around or not.**

**WARNING: This series is rated M because I write some pretty heavy stuff, both emotional and physical. This particular one-shot is about sex, so if you don't have the emotional maturity to deal with it, I suggest you move on. This story isn't necessarily setting the tone for the rest; some will be cutesy and light-hearted and some will be... well, heavy. I'll give warning every time we touch on something rather adult, so that way it doesn't take anyone by surprise.**

**Please let me know how you like this first one! I eagerly await critique, as I am a complete and utter concrit-whore. Also let me know what you think of the concept.  
**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma 1/2 or any characters therein. I also do not own any of the song titles used, or indeed any of the songs these stories are based on.**

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**--**

_I Want You (She's So Heavy)_

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The door bursts open and she slips into the room, trying not to giggle as her foot almost slides out from underneath her. She tries to close the door on him but he catches it, his face just a little too close to hers with that smirky smile on it, and it catches her off guard and lets him open the door and shut it just a little too loud. She bursts into giggles. "If Father could hear that, he'd be so proud," she manages to say.

He catches her by the waist. "They should be happy," he says in an attempted whisper that she won't tell him is too loud. "We're finally married, Akane."

She likes the sound of that. "Say it again, Ranma." It sends the blood rushing to her head and makes her dizzy, although the sake probably helps. How much has she had? She didn't keep track. She supposes this is what they call "tipsy".

"We're married, Akane." She's caught off-guard by his low voice in her ear and the way his breath tickles her ear and that feels so good. She closes her eyes to savor the moment and suddenly he feels heady with how beautiful she looks right now. His hands move to her back and fumble with the lacing on her gown and he wants to swear loudly, god, who the hell came up with this, someone who hated him? She giggles because he's obviously as intoxicated as she is and because he looks so silly with that puzzled look on his face. He looks up at her and she's startled with the hazy but penetrating look on his face that roots her right where she's standing. She manages to break away from his gaze and turn away, somehow.

God, her limbs feel so fluid but so heavy at the same time. It's all fluttery in her stomach and a strange but delicious warmth is slowly spreading in her lower abdomen. She wonders if he's feeling the same way as her own hands deftly fumble at her lacing and somehow miraculously manage to undo the ties. The light in her room seems low and warm and she can see the moon from her window and it's high and full and focus, Akane, focus. It's hard to settle her mind down for too long, but she slips her dress down to her waist.

He's staring at her. Her back is possibly the sexiest thing he's ever seen and why are his clothes still on? The heat has spread from his lower abdomen to his entire body and he practically rips his tuxedo jacket off and wrestles with the shirt for an agonizingly long minute and finally gets it off. Her head turns ever so slightly with the noise and he's grabbed her wrist and pulled her to him and their lips meet, suddenly the heat is everywhere inside of her, she can feel his bare chest burning into her skin and now her bra is gone, how did she do that? he wonders briefly but is quickly overwhelmed with the feeling of her skin on his and she can feel herself sinking into him, slowly lusciously delicately oh god if only he could freeze this moment forever, with her mouth on his, opening for his tongue as he traces it across the roof of her mouth and her tongue, she sighs into his mouth and her arms are slung around his neck, she is suddenly acutely aware of his arms around her waist slimmer than he thought, his hands are slowly running over her curves and they are absolutely delicious and now the heat has completely consumed them both.

She feels like her body is melting into his until she's gasping for breath. That was the sexiest kiss she's ever had in her life and it's safe to say he feels the same way, judging by the hazy stunned look on his face. Their eyes lock and, as if their minds connected as well in that instant, he slides his pants off just as her dress glides to the floor along with her panties and his boxers.

He's seen her naked before, of course, but tonight she leaves him breathless. Maybe it's the way the low light plays across her breasts and her hips, maybe it's the alcohol pounding in his blood, maybe it's the sexy little smile on her lips, but she is stunning and if there was ever a doubt in his mind that they could consummate this marriage it is gone just like his mind is right now, not that he needs that anyway. All he needs wants? no needs is to feel her falling into him the way she was a few moments ago.

All of the times she's seen him without clothes on pale in comparison to tonight. Something about the way he's looking at her like he could just swallow her whole and moreover she wants him to. She shivers slightly at the realization, because she does want him, more than she ever thought anyone could ever want something, if he doesn't toss her on the bed right now she will go insane and throw him on the bed herself. The heat in her is burning her flesh until all she can hear is the thumping of her heart in her ears, she closes her eyes again to keep the feeling close so she can't lose it and dimly she hears him gasp. She opens her eyes again and dizzily appraises him, the way the muscles curve on his arms, the brilliance that is his clear blue eyes, her own brown eyes travel down to meet that hidden part of him and suddenly she loses her balance and lands on the bed hard.

He laughs, a throaty chuckle that barely disguises his need for her, and walks over to her in what he hopes is a sexy swagger but looks to her like a rushed drunken tripping. She sits up on the bed and he is there, looming over her, his hands planted on either side of her, just barely leaning over her with that smirk of his. "Can't hold your liquor, I see," he murmurs, moving to kiss her neck and she shivers in anticipation and he feels it and it sends thrills up and down his spine.

"I…" she opens her mouth as he kisses the nape of her neck and moves down down down her collarbone slowly, "I don't… don't think you can either… oh," she gasps as his lips find her breast and his tongue flicks her nipple ever so lightly. She can't suppress a moan that reverberates through his entire body and he needs more of her now before anyone can interrupt like they always do, doesn't matter that it's their wedding night, someone always interrupts. He shakes his head to clear out any thoughts that aren't about Akane just as he hears, oh so faintly, "Ranma…." And now he's absolutely gone.

Somehow, and neither of them can quite remember how they got there, but somehow she's flat on her back, head on the pillows, and he's on top of her, her legs are spread slightly and he's pressed up against her, his mouth covers hers and her head is spinning away somewhere where nothing exists but touch and the taste of his mouth and her burning need that keeps getting worse and worse. She gasps out again, "Ranma," and he kisses her furiously, his hands exploring her waist hips thighs… oh god. His fingers find the tiny nub of flesh with so many nerve endings and he tweaks it and she bucks her hips, her mouth frozen against his, and he just can't help himself.

"Akane," he whisper-groans into her mouth as he slips a finger into her. She stiffens momentarily and it kills him to think that he's hurting her but then she relaxes again and moves against his hand and she's kissing him back and does she know how sexy she feels right now? "Akane," he whispers again breathlessly, "can I…" and before he can finish his thought let alone start it she grabs him and guides him to her and… he's in.

She grits her teeth, but it doesn't hurt as badly as she thought it would. She's stretched a little uncomfortably, that's true, but she opens her eyes to see his face and he's frozen in a state of sheer ecstasy. She shifts a little and that kickstarts him back to life and he pulls back slowly and slams back into her and she can't suppress the moan that escapes her throat. "Again," she says throatily and he complies and she says, "Again," a little stronger now and she doesn't have to tell him anymore, he knows what to do, and now he's moving against her and she's moving with him and that's only magnifying their experience tenfold. She's surprised to hear herself gasping and letting out little moans and he's making sounds that there are no name for and she loops her arms around his neck again and says, "I love you," and draws him down into her mouth and he murmurs into her, rhythmically, in time with their movements, "I love you too," and there is no better feeling in the world than this and there never will be again. He begins to pant it out like a mantra that he's kept in for so long, mostly because it is, "I love you, I love you, I love you," and it's in time and she closes her eyes to savor the feel of him sliding in and out, in and out, and the heat that's spread throughout her body is concentrated now on their joining and this could keep going forever and she wouldn't mind.

Their movements are in sync now, moving against and with one another, like the rhythm of a constant drum or of the moon that is watching them right now, inexorable and relentless, never-ending, oh god he's building up but trying to hold back for her, all for her, everything's always been for her, and he's still murmuring "I love you" into her neck and her hair and her mouth, she is everywhere and he can't run away and he doesn't want to, she feels incredible everywhere, he's filling her and it's building up and then the fire takes over her and she cries out, writhing and moaning and thrashing and crying for him, Ranma, Ranma, please, don't stop don't stop and now he can't stop and he lets go and now they're both moving erratically together, as if they were created to fit like this together no matter what they do, and now it's ebbing in them, slowly, slowly now, and now it's faded away, gone.

He slips out of her and falls softly to her side as she pulls herself together again, both of their heads still spinning from the unexpected intensity of the moment. Was it only a moment? It seemed like hours, days, years even that they were joined together, one being at last. He opens his arms and pulls her into them and she nestles into his body as if she was made to fit to him like that, and with that they let sleep wash over them.

--

--

**The song is:**

_I Want You (She's So Heavy)_** by the Beatles**

**If you listen to the song, you'll understand why it's written the way it's written. Thanks for reading!**

**Lady Jane Doe  
**


	2. Intro Dramatico

_Intro Dramatico_

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**Medley **is nothing more than a little fun for me and (hopefully) a fulfilling reading experience for you. You see, music is integral to my life and my collection spans many genres and sounds. A hobby of mine is to "soundtrack" fandoms I like – that is, finding songs that fit a fandom or a pairing I like to a T. I guess this should mean that I should try my hand at making videos on YouTube, but at heart I'll always be a writer.

One day I came up with this idea: why not write the song into a fanfiction? I don't mean songfic, where the lyrics come up in the fic itself, but take the feel and the meaning of a song and try to convey that into a fic. Since I'm already a big fan of one-shots, I started working on that idea until it evolved into a big project I had in mind: **Medley**. (Get it, because it's a bunch of different songs, and – sorry, I'm a geek.) Not only would this be a fun way to write one of my favorite canon-but-unrealized ships, Ranma/Akane, but it would also be a really good writing exercise in working with tone, mood, point of view, and character, not to mention the challenge of capturing the way a song makes you feel and turning it into the basis for a story.

So, with all that said, here are some notes that would probably be good to read before diving in:

1.) While it would probably be more challenging to keep all of the one-shots here in the same continuity, I'm not that hardcore, so none of the stories in **Medley **are connected unless otherwise mentioned.

2.) The only pairing I'm focusing on is Ranma/Akane. I have thoughts on other pairings, of course, but since the spotlight isn't on them that's a topic for another day. If it comes up I'll be glad to give you my ships, but seriously? Ranma/Akane gives me warm fuzzies, so I'm going to milk this pair for all they're worth.

3.) The title of each story will be the song title, and I'll leave an author's note at the end of each one-shot with the song name and the artist, just in case you are interested. (Plus I love to rec my favorite songs to just about everyone.)

4.) Song suggestions are definitely welcomed (I love discovering new music!), but keep in mind that I've already got a bunch of songs that I want to play with here. I may not use your suggestion, so please don't be upset if it doesn't show up. It doesn't mean I hate you or your song; it just means that I am busy playing with something else.

5.) I'm using songs from everywhere. Musicals, operas, trip-hop, Top 40, rock; you name it, chances are I listen to it and it'll show up here. I'm also going to try and incorporate a line or two from the song in the story, so be on the lookout!

6.) This project doesn't have a specific update schedule or even a time limit. I'll update whenever I have a new song-story done. Now, on my ever-shifting schedule, I can't guarantee when that will be. Some months might have an update every other day; some might have only one or two. I also can't tell you when it'll end – I guess whenever I feel like finishing? I'm really enamored of this idea, so it looks like it'll carry on for a while, but whenever it ends please don't hate me. There is always college and work and life in general to deal with, plus I'm always coming up with new projects for myself.

7.) Last and not least, please be unafraid to give me your honest critique. I'm always looking to get better and fix what I can, so if you think something could be better let me know! But, of course, if you just want to give unnecessary praise I am totally into that too!

Happy listening!

Lady Jane Doe


	3. What Am I To You?

**This one was a little trickier to pin down, but I think I may have got it and kept them in character to boot! Much cuter than the last one and something the whole family can read.**

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_What Am I To You?_

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"Ranma, you jerk," Akane muttered under her breath as she dropped onto her bed, pushing her head into her pillow to muffle her words. "Stupid, stupid jerk." Letting Shampoo and Ukyo flirt with him so shamelessly today? Not to mention Shampoo hanging all over him again, and Ukyo making her not-so-subtle jabs about being the cute fiancée. She punched the bed listlessly. Every day that this carried on just chipped away at her, bit by bit, until she was afraid that nothing would be left of her soon.

She rolled over to face the ceiling, still hugging her pillow to her chest. "You idiot," she said softly. "When are you going to put two and two together?"

Did she even mean anything to him? She could have sworn she heard him say that he loved her at Jusendo, but maybe it was just wishful thinking on her part. And then there was that debacle of a wedding…. She groaned and smushed the pillow over her face, hoping to never remember that again. Wasn't he even happy that she wanted to marry him? Didn't he care that she did that of her own free will? "What a moron," she said, her voice muffled even to her own ears. Everything just got so jumbled up between them. How many times had she made it obvious how she felt? And how many times had he called her uncute, tomboy, macho, whatever? Did he just not care about how she felt? It's not like she didn't try to be cute and nice and wonderful like Kasumi, she just… wasn't very good at it. She winced into the pillow. Akane wasn't cut out to be a super homemaker and it was time she accepted that. It was just so hard to do when her whole life she had the paragon of womanliness, Kasumi, held up against her as her foil.

'Akane, Kasumi would never fight boys at school.'

'Akane, Kasumi would never answer the door wearing a gi.'

'Akane, are those supposed to be riceballs? Kasumi's are so much better.'

It was enough to make anyone snap, but Akane had gritted her teeth and tried harder, determined to be as useful and as wonderful as her oldest sister. But in the end, she just couldn't do it.

And Saotome Ranma, that colossal jerk, just kept sniping at her about how come she couldn't be like normal girls and be cute, sweet, delicate, helpless? Well, how was she supposed to defend herself from all the crazy here in Nerima that way? How would she carry on the dojo if she didn't try?

Which just lead right back to Ranma and his stupid feelings. "Jerk, jerk, jerk!" she cried suddenly, loud enough to make out clearly through the pillow.

"Who's a jerk?"

She pulled the pillow off of her face and sat up, blinking, to see the jerk in question perched on her windowsill. She half-expected him to be scowling at her for the insult, but instead his face was mild, amused even. "H-how long have you been sitting there?" she stammered, embarrassed.

"Only just now." He swung his legs out so that he was sitting on her desk and propped his chin up on his hands. "So what's wrong, Akane? What did I do now?"

Akane turned her head sharply. "Who said you did anything? Can't I call you a jerk for no reason at all?" It sounded pathetic even to her own ears, and she knew instinctively that Ranma wouldn't buy it.

He didn't. "Aw, c'mon Akane, what did I do? Aren't you even going to let me know, or do I get to stick around in the dark for a while?"

She paused, worrying her lower lip between her teeth. Things had changed between them since the attempted wedding; they seemed easier but somehow even more emotionally charged than anything had ever been before. Or maybe that was just her, and he just thought everything was like it always had been. With her being violent and macho and all. She bit a little too hard down on her lip in agitation and winced.

In a flash, Ranma was at her side. "Are you okay?" he asked, his worried eyes meeting hers. In the midst of her surprise, her brain took time to get a little lost in his eyes (_only a little, damnit_, another, more stubborn part of her brain insisted). They were like the sea, just as vast and the deepest shade of blue. She'd always loved the color blue and his eyes just cemented the deal. A faint blush colored her cheeks and she turned her head away from those eyes that were giving her butterflies.

"I'm fine, I just bit my lip a little. It's nothing." An awkward pause ensued and he sat down next to her on the bed. Did he feel how strange things were between them, or was she just imagining things? She sighed inwardly and waited some more for something she wasn't quite sure of.

He was quiet until, suddenly, he snapped around to face her and turned her head to face him gently with his hand. It happened so quickly that all Akane could do was listen to the sound of her heartbeat speed up and focus on those blue eyes that gave her chills. His face was almost uncomfortably close to hers and the expression on his face was of the utmost seriousness. And all she could do was stare into his eyes and despair that he would never love her the way she wanted.

"Akane," he began, his voice low and perfectly serious, "things have been different since… since Jusendo. I know. But…" he hesitated for a nanosecond, then plunged on, "can you at least tell me why you're mad right now? What did I do? Can I fix it at all, or are we stuck here?" His voice had a note of despondency that Akane was surprised to hear.

Wait. Wait, he doesn't think that…? Her heart fluttered a little at the thought, but her brain couldn't come up with words to say, and so she was stuck in silence. The words she wanted were held back by some invisible barrier. _You've been so far away but so close, it hurts. What's wrong with me, what's wrong with you?_ And, most importantly, _What am I to you, Ranma?_

All she could do at the moment, though, was look at him. Focus on his eyes, and the hair that fell into his eyes, and his mouth… _no, we'll avoid that one right now_, she decided, her cheeks coloring again.

After a few seconds that felt like eternity, she managed to say, in a very small voice that was very unlike her, "Would you rather have Ukyo or Shampoo as a fiancée?"

His eyes betrayed his surprise, and he stared at her for a second. Suddenly he burst into laughter that, unless her ears were deceiving her, had more than a hint of relief in it. "Is that all? Jeez, Akane, you had me all worried over that?"

Now the smallness was quickly wearing off and she felt that familiar angry frustration with him. "Well? Would you? I mean, you could just unload me and go be happy with a cuter fiancée, after all." She huffed and stuck her nose up in the air to hide the hurt that raced through her heart. He was just going to laugh like that? This was serious!

His laughter died and he turned to face her again, his expression grave again. And again, her breath caught in her throat. "Jeez, Akane," he said again, softly, "haven't you figured it out yet?"

"Figured out what?" The very air around them was charged with that quiet emotion that seemed to surround the two of them. She could feel it; could he?

"No." She blinked at him. "I wouldn't replace you, Akane. Especially not for Shampoo or Ukyo."

And suddenly everything was spinning around her head and she had to blink rapidly to bring herself back down to earth.

"So…" she heard herself say quietly, waiting for him to finish the thought and then quickly changing her mind. "Ranma," she started determinedly, "what am I to you?"

He blinked at her, surprised. "What?"

"What am I to you?" she repeated, her fingers digging into her pillow nervously. "Am I just the fiancée you got trapped into marrying, or… or…?" She couldn't bring herself to say it out loud.

Now they were both turning red. She fought the instinct to avoid his eyes and looked straight into them again, this time refusing to think about how blue they were and sternly telling herself to keep to the subject at hand.

"W-well," he stammered, "Akane, y-y-y…" He took a deep breath, clearly pulling himself together, and she wondered how he could be so transparent and so hidden from her at the same time. "I said at Jusendo that my words get all mixed up sometimes, so I'll try to be straight, okay?"

Her heart sank a little. "O-okay."

Ranma took another deep, long breath and slowly exhaled. "Akane, I've been in love with you for a while."

Another long, stunned silence ensued. Akane stared at him and he slowly reddened, but resolutely held her gaze.

"Ranma, I… you…."

She was startled by the sudden confession, but needless to say she recovered pretty quickly.

"Ranma, you IDIOT!"

He escaped a swat from Akane and stared at her in disbelief. "I finally get up the guts to tell you I love you and this is how you react?!" As the words left him, he noticed the look on her face.

"I've been worried all this time about whether or not you cared about me, if you hated me or loved me, or if you even gave a damn about me, and all this time you just couldn't spit it out?" The tears just wouldn't stop and she couldn't tell if they were happy or angry or both. "You idiot, couldn't you tell that I loved you all this time?"

He stared. "Y-you do?"

"Yes!" she yelled, angrily swiping at her eyes. This was not how she planned on telling Ranma that she loved him, but when did things ever go according to plan for the two of them?

His face broke into the sunniest smile she'd ever seen in her life, and suddenly she found herself swept up in his arms, his mouth against hers, kissing her for real this time. Her eyes widened, then slowly closed as she kissed back. Fireworks broke out against her eyelids, butterflies soared in her stomach up to her throat, making her dizzy with joy. Some of her erstwhile tears were rubbing off onto his face, but the two of them were impervious to it, too caught up in their first real kiss to care.

After another eternity, they broke apart and he gently wiped what few tears were left on her face away. "I think you should get the ones on your face too," she said, feeling giddy and dizzy and floaty all at the same time. He smiled at her again and the room started to spin again.

"Leave them," he said, and leaned in for another kiss.

--

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**The song used here was:**

_What Am I To You?_ **by Norah Jones. **

**By the way, this album of hers is easily my favorite (although Come Away With Me is a classic); it has a much more folky sound to it that I really enjoy. A weekend album if I ever heard one. Drop by again later and I might have another one up sooner than you think. I'm drafting a list of songs I want to use, and although some of them will be a stretch, I'll try them out anyway. I always did enjoy a challenge! Also, if anyone can tell me why the horizontal ruler refuses to insert into my Edit window, I would be your willing slave. Have a great day!  
**

**Lady Jane Doe  
**


	4. Banana Split For My Baby

**Wow, thanks for the reviews! I really appreciate it and I'll try to send you all a review reply so I don't eat up space here. Feedback is wonderful, not to mention I crave validation like a pregnant woman craves soap (long story). It's been a while since I had time to sit down and write, much less work on my pet project. I've been doing a lot of research for a term paper recently, plus there's a test coming up in one class and an early exam for Indonesian. The semester is hitting exam review time and my writing time is slowly dwindling. Updates may be few and far between, but I'll make time. So, this story! I wanted something a little lighthearted, something that sounds like it could have been a story ripped from the manga (or hell, even the anime), so I flipped through iTunes and found the perfect song. This is kinda silly, but chock full of UST (Unresolved Sexual Tension), so the romance tag is duly earned. I hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

_Banana Split For My Baby_

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It was a beautiful spring day. Birds were tweeting out a song, budding flowers were just barely unfurling their petals, and Akane was pouting. "Pleeeeeeeease, Nabiki?" she said as Ranma entered the room.

"No, I don't want any." Nabiki turned back to her book and Akane glared at her. Ranma looked from one to the other, confused.

"What's going on?" he asked as he plopped down next to his fiancée. Nabiki glanced over, noting that no matter where they went, those two gravitated towards each other like a planet and its moon.

Akane turned a sad face up to him and he blinked in surprise. "I really want some ice cream, but nobody will go with me," she explained, indicating Nabiki with her head.

Her sister sighed. "Kasumi's busy and I don't feel like ice cream."

"Why can't you just go by yourself?" Ranma asked, and was rewarded with twin looks of pity.

Nabiki turned a page in her book. "There is nothing sadder," she explained, "than a girl eating ice cream by herself. Akane doesn't want to look like a lonely, friendless girl." She rolled her eyes. "Duh."

Ranma thought a moment; suddenly his face brightened and he stood up, grabbing Akane's arm and pulling her up with him. "I'll take you, Akane," he said, uncharacteristically gallant.

She looked at him, eyes wide in surprise. "Y-you mean it, Ranma?" Her cheeks colored slightly.

He nodded earnestly. "Yeah, c'mon, let's go already!"

As they left, Akane's eyes bright with happiness that she wouldn't name, Nabiki turned another page. "How sweet," she commented to no one in particular.

--

"So why did you offer to bring me, really?" Akane propped her chin on her hand, elbow on the delicate little table. Normally it might look a little rough and inelegant, but in her dress and hair ribbon, she looked just as cute as the interior of the coffee shop. Not that Ranma would admit that, to himself or anyone else. Nevertheless, he sported the faintest of blushes on his cheeks, and instead of being honest, he chose the least incriminating truth to tell her.

"Because this way you stop pestering everyone in the house about how you want ice cream." He smiled, ignoring her sudden glare.

"Is _that_ all?" She harrumphed, sticking her nose up in the air.

His ire was piqued. "Yeah, that's all! If you think I'm taking an uncute tomboy like you out for ice cream because I wanna, you're delusional."

"Well, I didn't _ask_ you to bring me here, you jerk!"

Ranma turned a glare on Akane, who was sporting one to match directly at him. The air crackled around them with battle aura. People were starting to stare and the manager sighed. Why did all the crazies always come to _his_ shop?

They continued to glare at each other until the (unfortunate) waiter arrived at their table. "Uh, so… what can I get you two?" he asked warily. This couple in particular was infamous for the havoc they wreaked and the trail of damage left in their wake.

Ranma broke the glarefest first. "What do you want, Akane?"

"Oh!" She blinked, her anger quickly subsiding. "Um, I…." She hesitated, her eyes scanning the menu on the table in front of her. "There's just so much to choose from…."

Her fiancé interrupted smoothly. "You know what, she'll have the deluxe banana split."

"What would you like on it?" Again, Akane looked like an indecisive deer staring into headlights. She opened her mouth, hesitated, and Ranma swooped in again.

"Chocolate chips, tons of whipped cream, nuts on top of that, oh and lots of cherries, and don't forget the fudge. Lots of fudge."

The waiter scribbled the order down quickly. "And… will you have anything?"

"I'll just have water."

The waiter nodded and moved on to the next table. Akane gaped (and if Ranma was being honest with himself, he'd say that she looked cute when she was taken by surprise like that; but Ranma was hardly if ever honest with himself, and so this manifested in another blush). "How… why…?" was all she could manage to say.

He relaxed into his chair, his arms behind his head. "Please, Akane. I've been here with you tons of times as a girl. You think I don't know what you like?"

"I-I just didn't know you paid any attention," she stammered out, her face flushing lightly. The color returned to his cheeks and both of them sat in silence, staring at the table, trying to avoid the other's gaze.

The café was now playing some lively piano music that was almost inaudible over the chattering crowds of girls that were quickly taking over the shop. Many of them were students at Furinkan High, and they recognized Ranma and Akane right off the bat. Nobody approached, of course, because they could recognize when the couple was having a moment, and, unlike other residents of Nerima, they didn't want to intrude. In fact, the parts of the student body that actually knew Ranma and Akane were waiting for the two of them to finally realize what the other one felt.

Needless to say, it was a long wait, and it was obvious that today would not bring any changes.

It was Ranma who broke the silence, as usual. "D-don't get any weird ideas, now," he stuttered. "I, I mean, I just… can't help but notice what you order every time. It sounds good, is all."

"Oh," Akane replied softly. "That... that makes sense."

"Yeah."

And with that, they picked up right where they left off, awkwardly staring at the table until the waiter came back, a large ice cream dish full of sweet calories in one hand and a glass of plain water in the other. "Your order!" he said cheerily, relieved that these customers weren't giving him trouble as usual today. He set the rather large sundae in front of Akane, the water in front of Ranma, and then whisked off to serve other patrons.

Akane picked up her spoon eagerly. "Wow, Ranma!" she exclaimed. "I've never had a sundae this big before! It looks delicious!"

Ranma smiled (just a little, okay?). "You really wanted some ice cream, so I figured you should go all out, right?"

"Thanks!" She smiled up at him before scooping up a big spoonful of sundae, and his heart gave a very strange but loud thump in his chest. To soothe his jolting nerves, he took a gulp of water.

Akane was enjoying her banana split very much. She'd never had something this sumptuous before, and she savored every taste on her tongue. Ranma had made sure to order everything she liked on her ice cream in multiples, and she was grateful for it. She shot him another warm smile from across the table; her smile grew as she saw him turn red and take another large gulp of his water. He really could be very charming and nice sometimes (not often, though, and this was a truth easily forgotten by Akane whenever he tossed off another casual insult towards her).

As she was reaching the halfway mark on her ice cream, and after Ranma had finished off the glass of water, the waiter reappeared. "Will it be… together?" he asked discreetly, looking towards Ranma.

"Separate." Akane looked up sharply. "The ice cream's for her; the water's for me." Her mouth fell open and she began to shake with anger.

He ordered her the sundae and expected her to pay for it? Of all the low-down, jerk-ass, rude… Ranma, noticing his fiancée's battle aura heating up again, hastily got up and wasted no time in running out the door and down the street, throwing a, "Sorry, Akane, I'm broke!" back over his shoulder.

"So miss, that'll be…" The waiter trailed off as he, too, saw the battle aura crackling up from the girl's body. The whole shop was staring at this point, but Akane was beyond noticing. Instead, she clenched her fists at her sides and screamed out that too-familiar battle cry:

"_RANMA YOU JERK!!_"

* * *

**The song used here is:**

_Banana Split For My Baby _**by Louis Prima**

**I am a HUGE fan of big band/swing/the rat pack, so I have a lot of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and similar artists on my 'to-do' list. They come highly recommended, especially this song - it is as funny as you think it might be. I wasn't expecting it the first time I heard it and literally laughed out loud. Louis Prima is one of the greats, so if you don't listen to him you should start now. Actually, while I'm on that topic, would you (the reader) like me to make an online playlist of the songs I use, just so you can listen to them? I know it wouldn't be big so far, but it'll garner more songs as more time goes by. Let me know if you think this is a good idea. Thanks for reading and please, let me know what you think!**

**Lady Jane Doe  
**


	5. Woman

**Sorry it's been a while again - my laptop doesn't get wi-fi at my parents' place, so I had to resort to burning my latest two stories onto a CD-R and uploading from their computer. However, I think they should be enough to make up for it (at least, I hope they are). And what's that? I said my latest _two_ stories? Yes, I wrote two in my break; the second one will go up in a few days. However, this one had better make you happy, because the following short going up is depressingly sad. In other words, get your kicks now, because the next one is a heart-wrencher. Enjoy!**

* * *

_Woman_

--

She drove him absolutely crazy sometimes. It used to be all the time, but now there was something about her that kept him coming back for more.

Akane. He couldn't understand it. How did it happen? One day she was a hot-tempered, crazy, brutally strong tomboy, and then somehow she… changed. It was as if he had turned his head, looked back carelessly, and then couldn't drag his eyes away. When did it happen? He couldn't remember anything leading up to this shift in the way he saw her. All he knew was that he couldn't go back, and truth be told he wasn't sure how he felt about that.

He found himself watching her with his peripheral vision. The way she turned her head caught his breath; a twist of her mouth and the sweat beaded on his forehead; she'd flash her smile at Kasumi and his heart flew into his throat. The worst (best?) was late at night, when she was deliberately putting off sleep to watch TV or read a book or maybe just to argue with him. Same thing every time. She would look up at the clock, yawn, and stretch no matter how she was sitting or laying down. Her left arm pulled into her and flexed, her right arm stretched straight as an arrow into the air, her shoulders pushed back and her back arched until he had to find an excuse to look away. She'd rise to her feet with a grace he'd never noticed before, say sleepily, "Good night, everyone," and slip out into the hallway, leaving without realizing her effect on him.

Always the same. He had the routine memorized by now, he'd watched it play out so many times. It kept him up late at night, staring at the ceiling, almost afraid to fall asleep for the dreams he knew he would have of her. When he finally did sleep, those dreams would keep him tossing restless on his futon and he would awake in the mornings groggy and dimly aware of the slowly fading images in his subconscious. It made breakfast uncomfortable, those mornings.

There was one morning where, as he cautiously slid into the room, Akane turned towards him and gave him a megawatt smile. "Good morning, Ranma," she said brightly. "How did you sleep?"

Her innocent question made him stumble and almost trip over his own two feet. Suddenly, a moment from his dream came to him, the phantom Akane turning her head to look at him over her shoulder with a seductive smile, and his face turned bright red. He managed to answer, "Fine," somehow, and tried not to look at her for the rest of the morning until he could calm down and pretend the dream never happened.

He didn't understand. Wasn't she just Akane? The same girl who never believed his wild-eyed protestations, who turned up her nose in a huff once one of his other fiancées barged in, who wasn't afraid to land an armor-piercing slap to his face if she was angry? Had she changed, or was it him? Either way, he closed his eyes at night and there she was; he opened them and she was all over the house or school. If he heard a scream, he automatically raced to her room, fearing the worst. She was cemented in his heart, for better or for worse.

"_Ranma, you jerk!"_

"_Ranma, quit picking on P-chan!"_

"_Ranma, stop fooling around!"_

"_Ranma, I'm scared."_

"_Ranma, where are you?"_

"_Ranma, help me!"_

"_Raaanmaaaaaa!"_

He couldn't help it. He thought about her all the time. She was never far from his thoughts, probably because she was never far from him. He needed a break but hated to be away from her. They walked to and from school together; whenever there was an errand to be done, they went together. They bickered like usual, but his heart wasn't in it any more. He was too busy trying not to stare at her too hard, desperately keeping the dream images at bay until night, when they ran rampant over his body.

_Her shirt slipping off her shoulder, his arms around her waist, his heartbeat pounding erratically at his chest like a drummer playing to a beat that only he can hear, her shallow breathing at the sheer closeness of their bodies, his hands whispering over the smoothness of her hips, she shudders and looks up at him with a smile that invites, that says, "Come in, please, I've been waiting for you for so long…"_

He woke up, gasping for breath, sweat soaking his skin oppressively. His father snored on next to him, oblivious to his son's slow torture by fantasy. He ran a hand through his hair, still trying to catch his breath and hold the dream at bay.

_Why?_ he wondered. Why her, why now, but mostly why her? What was it about this girl that was driving him crazy? How could she just leave a smell in the room that made him dizzy?

More importantly, was he doing the same thing to her?

Was she having dreams, right now, of a phantom Ranma holding her, murmuring in her ear all the things he dreamed of saying to her? Were their dreams the only place they could let loose and do what they wanted and hid during the day?

_Woman._

_That_ was it. She was a woman now. Sometime in the space of looking away and back, Akane had turned into a woman, and Ranma had been confused, expecting the girl he knew too well.

Now she was the only woman he could think of, the only woman he saw when he closed his eyes. The only woman he dreamed about. It was distressing and comforting all at once, and Ranma didn't know how to sort it out. He lay back down and stared at the ceiling, visions of a beautiful half-dressed Akane flitting beneath his eyelids as he blinked.

* * *

**The song used here is:**

_Woman_ **by Maroon 5**

**This is actually not a well-known song by them; it was on the Spiderman 2 soundtrack. I kinda stumbled across it and fell hopelessly in love. If you love Maroon 5, you need to hear this song. It's sexy and beautiful and so, so true (or at least the guys tell me so, at any rate). I hope you enjoyed this one; hang on a few days and you'll get a new treat!**

**Lady Jane Doe**


	6. The Hardest Thing

**Okay, I waited as long as my patience could take, which is apprently three days. I'm not good at having everything written up beforehand, so... never again. This one is set after a few years, so in my mind the characters are a year or two older than in the manga/anime. Something to keep in mind that I couldn't fit anywhere into the story. Most of my notes on this story won't make sense until you read it, so dive right in!**

* * *

_The Hardest Thing_

--

It was a mistake that had led him to this snowy afternoon, but a mistake etched in stone. A stupid mistake, one outburst and the only way he knew how to strike out; this was a conflict between his heart and his sense of honor that Ranma could not fix.

He scuffed his shoe on the pavement, waiting with his head bowed. The snow fell in fat clumps, white drifts against the dull gray of the sky. Somehow the flakes turned to gray as soon as they hit the ground, as washed out as everything else in the park, so that the only color came from him. He kept concentrating on the snow and the way everything looked exactly like he felt as if he didn't have a more pressing concern. Almost involuntarily, he looked down at his watch; he was uncharacteristically early, but he wanted to savor the last few moments before he had to kill off something that never got the chance to see the light of day. He shut his eyes, willing himself to keep his composure, but all he could see was Akane's expressionless face staring at him like a mask beneath his eyelids. No, not a mask – it was the face of a dead woman, arranged for her funeral, almost normal if it wasn't lacking the spark of life behind the eyes.

Her eyes… they bored into him, deadened and cold. His own eyes flew open and he shook his head. But he could stop seeing her face and still hear the whole messy thing in his head over and over again.

"_If you hate me so much, why am I still here?" he yells, red-faced from the screaming match they're having. "I got a ton of girls lining up around the block to marry me! I could go out and marry any one of them right now!"_

"_**Fine!**__ Go do that, then!" she screams back. "I'm just the uncute, loudmouth, angry tomboy that your dad made the mistake of promising you to marry! Consider our engagement over! Go marry anyone you want!"_

_His future self hears this and knows what he should have done. He should have stopped. Told her he didn't want to marry anyone else. Explained to her how beautiful she was and how much he cherished her, in his own rough way. Maybe then, everything would be different now. But instead…_

"_Fine by me!" he bellows, storming out of the dojo and running smack dab into Ukyo. She's carrying an okonomiyaki carry-out box, obviously for him._

"_Ran-chan!" she exclaims, her whole face brightening upon seeing him, and Ranma can hear Akane's feet pattering after him, and Ukyo looks so happy just to see him and he's known her for forever…_

_The words escape him before he can even think twice. "Ukyo, will you marry me?"_

_There is an eerie silence in the air. Ukyo looks about as stunned as Ranma feels. The sound of Akane's feet stop dead._

_Then Ukyo's face blossoms into the biggest smile he's ever seen. "Oh Ran-chan, of course!" she squeals, throwing her arms around him. "We can get married today, if you like! Oh, I'm so happy you finally came to your senses and chose me!" Mechanically, his arms go around her. She's still babbling happily away, but it's Akane his eyes seek out._

_She looks dead. Her eyes… oh god, her eyes…_

_She stands there, arms hanging limply at her sides. "Congratulations, Ranma," she says dully. "You made a great choice." Stiffly, she turns around and walks slowly back inside. The door shuts and he's still standing on the pavement, staring after her as his soon-to-be bride takes his hand and talks about courthouses and wedding dresses._

_You made a great choice._

He could have taken his mother's sword and killed himself at that moment and he wouldn't feel any worse than he did just then.

The snow kept falling, inexorably drifting down onto his bright red jacket. He brushed it off impatiently and made a motion as if to check his watch again.

"I didn't think you'd be early."

He jumped and turned around. Akane stood behind him. He hadn't seen her in a few weeks and yet she looked exactly the same as the last time he saw her – indifferent, lifeless. It made everything harder.

"Hey, you wanted to meet me. Maybe you're late."

His half-hearted attempt at banter died meeting her cold exterior. She ignored it and looked him straight in the eye.

"How's Ukyo?"

He winced. "She's great. Couldn't be happier."

She nodded. "I thought so." A hesitation. "Listen, Ranma…," and suddenly, just like that, the life and feeling seemed to rush straight through her and he could see her eyes sparkle with determination. A determination that he loved more than everything else. He steeled himself so that he could get through this.

"Ranma, what I said… I didn't mean it," Akane said softly. "I was just angry. And… and we can tell Ukyo that it was a potion of Shampoo's or something." He stared at her. "I know, it's a horrible thing to say, but if you don't want to do this, then… we're still fiancées, right? I mean, we have to unite the schools for our fathers and… and…." Her eyes started to fill with tears and it took all of his willpower to not close the gap between them and brush them away for her. She took a deep breath. "Ranma, I don't want to marry anyone else but you."

Silence.

"Besides," she added, getting warmed up now, "you can't marry Ukyo. We're still engaged, and there's still everything with Shampoo to clear up, and –"

"No," Ranma said abruptly. _Forgive me someday._ "No, I asked her to marry me because I wanna marry her, Akane."

She gasped then, a little sharp intake of breath not unlike the one made when someone hits you square in the chest. He tried to ignore it and plunged on. "I made a promise to Ucchan a long time ago and I owe it to her. She's been my friend for a long time and it's probably better to marry her instead of some girl I barely know."

He knew that she loved the color yellow, that her favorite movie was an American movie called _Casablanca_, that she dreamed of romance, that her favorite ice cream flavor was strawberry, how she cocked her head to the side slightly when she was doing math in her head, how her left eye twitched when she got angry, the shape of her body, the smell of her in the dojo after she worked out, her figure sprawled out on the floor as she watched television with the family, the timbre of her voice.

Akane's eyes were brimming over with tears now. "You know me," she whispered. "And I know you. I know everything about you, Ranma. I know you don't love Ukyo."

"She loves me," he countered back. "And I figure love's somethin' that comes with time, so maybe I'll love her too, someday."

"I know you don't want to get married." Her voice sounded wretched.

He inhaled deeply. "I changed my mind." Exhale. "I wanna marry Ukyo."

A sob escaped her, broken and pitiful, and she pressed her hand to her mouth as if to stifle any more from coming out. There was a moment's silence as she tried to pull herself together and he restrained himself from breaking down, and then she looked up, her brown eyes beautiful in their indescribable sorrow.

"Ranma," she whispered, so quiet that if he hadn't always been hanging on her every word he wouldn't have caught it. "Please come home with me. Marry me." She took a breath, shuddered and stilted as it was. "I love you, Ranma."

This was the part he'd been dreading most of all. Akane was breaking down in front of him, piece by piece. She'd abandoned all pretenses in that very moment and stood before him, honest, openly confessing her love for him. Every single atom in his body cried out for him to stride to her and hold her and tell her that he felt the same way, kiss her, and start their happy life together forever.

Except he couldn't.

He'd given his word, and he'd always been taught that a man has to stay by his word. It may have been a mistake, it may have been the stupidest thing he'd ever done, but he was honor-bound to one woman now… and it wasn't Akane.

He looked away. "Akane," he said softly. "I'm sorry, but I don't love you."

The air was dead around them now. She was still as a corpse.

_It's a lie, Akane. It's all a lie._

_I love you._

_I can't be with you._

_Forgive me._

"Oh," she managed thickly. He looked at her again and wished he hadn't. Tears were streaming down her face. They soaked the scarf Kasumi had made her last Christmas, _yellow, her favorite color,_ and dripped onto her sweater. Her eyes were filled with only pain.

"I'm sorry," she said through the tears. "I… I didn't mean to bother you. I hope I... I haven't in-inconvenienced y-you." Her words started to break up, sobs coming through. She didn't bother to hide it now; she was visibly distraught beyond all measurable belief, and it was all his fault. All his own stupid, selfish fault. He struggled not to show any emotion at her tears. It was the hardest thing he'd ever have to do, he knew, living without her coming in a close second.

"You didn't," he said quietly.

They both stood there for what felt like forever to him.

Finally, she turned away. "I h-have to he-elp K-Kasumi wi-with dinner," she choked out. "I-I h-have to g-go." She looked over her shoulder at him and his heart broke raggedly into uncountable pieces. "G-goodbye, Ranma." Another sob, and without waiting for his reply she ran away, messy and sobbing and trying to navigate through her tears.

Ranma was left alone, silhouetted against the gray sky. "Bye, Akane," he said faintly, half to himself. "I'll always love you."

Silence again.

* * *

**The song used here is:**

_The Hardest Thing_ **by 98 Degrees.**

**Yeah shut up I love boy bands, okay? But old school ones, the ones I grew up with in the 90s. (I'm twenty, if that makes more sense.)**

**Okay, so about this story. Originally, I was looking to do a lot of cute romantic songs or deep sexy songs because I only saw how I could write Ranma/Akane in a relationship or admitting that they love each other and how that would make me happy. But when I thought about it, I realized a.) that's not very challenging at all, and one of the primary reasons I'm doing this is because it's a challenge for me; and b.) love isn't just happy endings. I want this to be an exploration of love and all the ways it manifests in people's lives. Some love stories end happily in real life - others don't. I don't want my stories to just be fluffy romances. I want there to be everything love is made of: heartbreak, romance, sex, jealousy, happiness, all that stuff. So out of that desire came this story.**

**Actually, this one's my favorite so far, because it was so difficult to write. First of all, Ranma's speaking voice is _haaaaard_. I kept having to rewrite his speaking bits, so if I screwed up don't tell me because I will pull out my hair. Secondly, some of the details ran away with me. I didn't originally see the whole snowy gray day background until I listened to the song for the trillionth time and heard the _Dr. Zhivago_ reference (an excellent movie that is as heartbreaking as this song). I think it all turned out pretty good, so I really want to hear what y'all think.**

_ETA by popular demand:_ _What a lot of people don't realize is that Ranma is the most honorable person in the series, despite his father (or maybe even because of it). He always upholds his word even when it runs counter to his desires (cf. Ryoga/P-chan). In Japan, they have a word of honorable duty called 'giri', and part of why Ranma 1/2 is so funny to Japanese readers is because Ranma is caught up in a web of giri that's so thick and unescapable that he can't choose a girl to marry. If he did, he'd bring dishonor onto himself and probably start a blood feud with the rejected girls' clans. (That's also why the story has no conclusive ending.)_

_That's what I tried to work with here. He gave his word to Ukyo - mistakenly, and stupidly, but nevertheless it was given, and the way Ranma sees it, he must uphold that on his honor as a man. Trying to let Akane down the way he did was wrong, of course, but he's trying to let her go so she can have her own life without him, and he can uphold his duty to Ukyo. It's all wrong and hurtful, but then again, obligations of duty often do that to people._

**I have two really adorable stories in the works right now to make up for the angst in this one. I'll probably only put one up and save another for later (but we'll just see how that goes). Thanks and I hope you enjoyed all this!**

**Lady Jane Doe**


End file.
